EAA/ANN AirVenture Innovation Preview

First Moon Shot in Many Moons is On the Way

It's the first time anyone but Americans or Soviets have tried
to reach the Moon, and, not surprisingly, it's a European
effort.

Saturday morning, the Kourou launch station in French Guiana saw
an Ariane-5 make a spectacular launch, starting a long trip that
will set a couple satellites into Earth orbit, and one 815-pound
probe, that's going to check out the moon, starting in late
December of next year.

The moon probe, called SMART-1, will meander quite a bit in that
time, covering 62 million miles, to reach the moon, which is a
quarter-million miles away. The reason it's taking so long is to
save fuel -- the trip will be made with about 16 gallons of the
precious stuff. [In a straight line, with planetary alignments just
so, 62 million miles of travel could get you to Mars --ed.]

Electric power to the moon, Mars, and beyond?

SMART-1 will be propelled mostly by electricity, powered by
solar panels, according to Giuseppe RACCA, the ESA Project Manager.
David Southwood, ESA's Director of Scientific Programs, told a news
conference in Kourou, "With SMART-1 we can test propulsion in
deep-space orbit. The next step, I hope, will be a Mars
mission."

Who's next to Space? Red China; they have a military project
that demands space dominance; a manned program is an integral part
of that scheme.